Improvement in draw-heads and bumpers for railroad cars



Improvement in Draw Heads and Bumpers for Railroad Cars.

S E S S E N n w UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

DANIELv sHAABEE, or READING, PENNSYLVANIA. u

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,986, dated June 13,1871.

I, DANIEL SHAABER, of Readin g, county of Berks, State of Pennsylvania,have invented an Improved Draw-Head and Bumper for Railroad Cars, ofwhich the following is a specification:

Nature and Object of the Intention.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing. Y Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the box or housing for the reception of the draw-head andsprings; Fig. 2, a sectional plan view of the draw-head and-housing; andFig. 3, a sectional elevation on theline l 2, Fig. 2, showing slightmodifications.

General Description.

The spring-box or housing A, instead of being formed of cheek-piecessecured together and to the under side of the car, as usual, is

' cast in one piece, and is secured-to the under side of the cross-sillat one end of the car by vertical bolts passing through holes a a, andby horizontal bolts passing through holes b b, formed in flanges .n x,which embrace the op.- posite sides of the said cross-sill. The drawheador bumper B has the usual curved face c, with its central opening, andstrap d, to which the curved face is secured. The rear end of the strapd is of the usual width' up to the points y y, where it is suddenlyincreased in width so as to form abrupt shoulders, andso as also toincrease the support or backing for the curved face c, and thus enablethe latter to better resist the shocks andl strains impart'- ed inbumping, &c. Openings e e are formed in the housing at opposite pointsfor thereception of the strap of the draw-head, the abrupt shoulders Vyy of the latter ,bearing against a plate or washer, f, arranged to slidel in the housing, and the said strap passing also through a similarplate or washer, j, at

the opposite end of the housing.l The spiral or other springs h, whichact upon the drawhead, are arranged within the housing at either side ofthe said drawhead, and between the plates f and f, as plainly shown inthe drawing. The draw-head is retained in its position within thehousing by its shoulders, yy, and by akey, z', which is inserted betweenthe end of the strap d and the plate j, and there held either by thestem of the link j, which passes through it and through the end of thestra-p, as shown in Fig. 2, or by a short bolt, la, arranged as shown inFig. 3. A washer, m, is, in the present instance, introduced between theplate j? and key i; but this washer is not essential, and may bedispensed with.

In bumping, the blow received by the face c will be taken up by thesprings h, as the shoulders y y of the draw-head will be forcedl back.upon the plate f, which bears against the springs, and the said springswill also permit the draw-head to yield to any pulling force, the key c'being in such case drawn against the sliding plate f.

Draw-heads or bumpers are usually 'secured to one end of the draw-bolt,the' opposite end of which passes through or is conta-ined in thespring-box.

This arrangement occupies considerable f in case of accidents to thecars. The housing also being cast in one piece, and constructed asbefore described, can be readily secured to Y or detached from thecross-sill when necessary.

Fhe usual link and coupling-pin, seen in Fig.`3, may be used inconnectionw'th my invention, or links ot' the character shown in Fig. 2.Where the latter are employed in the draw-heads of two cars which are tobe coup-V led together, one of the links is used to effect the couplingand the other is pushed back into its draw-head to the extent permittedby its collar j.

Claim. In testimony whereof I have signed my named to this specicationin the presence 0f The housing7 consisting of the box A, imtwosubscribing Witnesses. movably attached to the front sill of a car,DANIEL SHAABER. and adapted for the reception of springs h and h andplates f and f, or their equivalents, Witnesses: operating with thedrawhead B, substantiel- GEoRGE PRINTZ, ly as described. J. H. CHEETHAM.

